Let Her Go
by Iratus Lupus
Summary: "The most important day in my life happened when I was two years old. And that was the day I met Quil Ateara V." Little did Claire Young understand how complicated and interesting her life would get thanks to that one chance meeting. Join Claire in all her adventures that made her who she is today. Rated M for language and future sexual content.


_**Author's Note- Wow, it has been years since I've written fanfiction. Anyways, I recently set up a independent Claire Young RP blog, and I realized I wanted to dive into what makes Claire the way she is, and what better way to do that than to look back in her life? This is your typical Claire/Quil story, I guess, but I hope you guys like it. Because it's about her journey, I'm going to try to write most of it in Claire's perspective, but I can guarantee you'll see parts in Quil, Emily, Sam, and even Collin's point of view (Shhhh, you'll see.)**_

_**I've also chosen to list Emily and Collin as main characters because I can promise they will play larger roles later in the future. **_

_**Disclaimers- Claire, Quil, and most other characters mentioned in this story belong to Stephanie Meyer, as does the universe it's set in. **_

_**Okay, on to the story!**_

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**_Chapter Prologue_**

_(Claire's P.O.V.)_

The most important day of my life happened when I was two years old. And that was the day I met Quil Ateara V.

Just so we're clear, if you _ever_ tell him I told you that, I will shoot you in the foot. Aside from how sappy it sounds in general, he's not in my good books these days, and I wouldn't want him to think this is me caving and forgiving him.

But it's true. I've known since that first moment we looked at each other that I loved Quil. And that he loved me too, that he'd never leave or hurt me. One look was all it took to know that he would take care of me for the rest of my life. It would always be 'us', even when the going got tough.

Boy, was I delusional. Little did I know all the pain and anger he would cause me, or the personal hell I would end up putting him through. It was like everything was perfect for us, and then someone had to go open their big ass mouth and turn it all to shits.

That's not to say things were always bad for us. As much as I hate him now, I won't deny that Quil used to be the most important person in my life. In a way, he still is. I may not want him around, but if it hadn't been for him I wouldn't be the girl I am today. He was by my side from that moment we first met until I told him to leave me the hell alone; this is the guy who let me dress him as a princess with no complaints, who taught me how to ride a two-wheeler and bandaged my knees when I fell the second he let go of the bike. He'd stay on the phone with me for hours every night, listening as I talked about whatever teenage drama was getting to my this time. He was the who held me as I cried about my first day of Kindergarten, and who was still holding me years later, when I cried over my first kiss. Through everything I put him through, he never left me. At least, not until I told him to.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. About seventeen years ahead, actually. Let's go back.

In reality, I don't remember a whole lot about the day I met Quil. I mean, come on, I was two years old, and I can barely remember what I had for supper last night. Over the years, a couple people have told me about what happened that day, and they all have their own versions; Quil talks about that day like it was the greatest day in his life (Which let's face it, it was- I mean, he got to meet me, what could be better?). Uncle Sam and aunt Emily both talk about it with some sadness- can't say I blame them. I mean, you'd be sad if you found out that your two year old niece had just found her destiny. Even Embry, Paul, and the rest of the pack have their own version- the common theme between their versions being words like 'pedophile' and 'craddlerobber'.

As for me, I remember hiding behind uncle Sam's leg, scared of the guys sitting in the living room. You would be too, if you were surrounded by these massive strangers. Then _he_ walked into the room. And suddenly, there was nothing to be afraid of; just the sight of him made me feel safe, and I had all but ran into the safety of his arms, where I've stayed ever since.

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_(Emily's P.O.V.)_

I barely had time to set down the pan of fresh muffins I was holding before I turned, catching the small child who was barrelling towards me up in a hug.

"Auntie!" I smiled as she wrapped her arm around my neck, hugging me tightly before leaning in and kissing each of my three scars; it was a habit she had picked up from watching Sam, and I wouldn't be lying when I said it made me feel cherished. So many people were revolted by my scars, but none of that mattered, as long as my family still believed me to be beautiful.

"Well hello there, miss Claire. You've gotten so big since I last saw you!" Claire laughed as I spun her around in a circle, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheeks. "And where's little Ally?" In response, she pointed to the door, and seconds later, Sam walked in with my other niece cradled in his arm. My brother Andrew had wanted to take his wife Lisa for a romantic getaway, so Sam had driven up and picked up the girls, who were going to spend the next week with us. I wasn't complaining; having my nieces comes for a visit was always nice. It gave me a small taste of motherhood, which I craved. However, I understood that with everything going on with the pack, kids just weren't in the card for the time being. But I was happy to live vicariously through my sister-in-law for the time being.

"Something smells delicious." Walking over, Sam kissed me exactly as Claire had not even seconds before, but finishing it off with a kiss to the lips. It was short-lived- Allison took that opportunity to awake from her slumber, letting out a long wail, while at the same time, the back door opened again.

"What'd you do Sam, pincher her?" Jared let out a chuckle as he entered the house, followed closely by Paul. If experience had taught me anything, I'd have a house full of wolves within the next ten minutes. Pulling away from my fiancée, I shoved Claire into his empty arm, picking up the muffin tray and passing it to Paul.

"I'll get some sandwiches going; you boys just get out of my kitchen." With a laugh, Sam leaned over and pecked my cheek again, before heading into the living room, the other two trailing behind him. I turned to the fridge, grabbing the necessities and set to work.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later the door opened again, Leah and Seth entering. Seth waved to me enthusiastically while Leah simply nodded; I could only hope she'd forgive me someday. Not long after they arrived, Jacob, Embry and Quil entered just as I was finishing up the sandwiches. They all waved hello, and when I motioned to the plates, Embry came over and grabbed one. Picking up the other, I joined their procession into the living room.

You didn't need to be supernatural to sense the tension that had come over the room, and I froze the moment I stepped through the doorway- mostly because if I didn't, I would've run headfirst into Quil, who was frozen in his spot. I could hear a couple of the guys snickering –I could've sworn one of them even muttered something about 'cradle-robber'-, and I looked up, examining their faces. There was a mixture of amusement and confusion. Leah looked disgusted. And Sam, well.. if looks could kill, I had a feeling Quil's heart would've stopped beating long ago.

And that's when Claire stepped out. She had been hiding behind her uncle's legs, but suddenly any shyness seemed to evaporate and she came out of hiding, walking across the room to where I was still standing behind Quil. At first I thought she was coming to me. But then she stopped in front of him, held her arms in the air, and demanded: "Up."

For a second it looked like he was going to pick her up. Actually, he had even begun to bend down, but before he could get his arms around her, Leah had all but sprung from her seat, snatching Claire up and shoving past us into the kitchen, muttering something along the lines of 'you fucking pervert.' I turned back to the room to ask what had just happened, when Quil turned to face where the two had just disappeared. He looked pretty pissed, which was saying something considering this was one of the sweetest guys I knew. But underneath that, you could see the longing, a longing I had only ever seen in two other peoples eyes; and that's when it hit me what had just happened.

"No." The room fell silent as all eyes turned to me. Looking back at it, I have a feeling most of them thought I was going into shock or something like that as I stood there, shaking my head. "No fucking way." She was two. _Two. _How much sicker could this get? I spun on my heels, heading into the kitchen where Leah had taken my niece. For a second, I thought Quil would be right behind me. Like_ hell_ he was getting anywhere near her. My fears were quenched as I heard the sound of the front door slamming shut. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw that he was gone, along with Sam and Seth. Hopefully they got a good bite out of him.

I made my way into the kitchen, where Leah was trying to calm Claire, who had begun crying the minute her cousin picked her up. I reached for her, but Leah pulled away, the look on her face suggesting she was never letting go. I couldn't say I blamed her.

"He's a sick bastard, you know that?" She muttered, and I sighed, leaning against the counter. As much as I loved Quil, I couldn't say I disagreed.

A few minutes later, I heard the door open, and seconds later, Quil appeared, rubbing his shoulder. Looks like my boys did their job. Instantly Claire went silent, reaching out for him. I watched as he took a step towards Leah, who stepped back, even going as far as to let out a low growl.

"Leah, it's fine."

I looked over at Sam as he entered the room, walking over and all but prying Claire out of my cousin's arms before plunking her into Quil's. Any tension he was feeling was gone the second she nuzzled against his shoulder, completely content where she was.

"Claire, can you say hello to Quil?" Sam asked, and she raised her head, smiling widely at the boy holding her.

"Hi Qwil."

"Hi Claire." He returned her smile, before turning and heading back into the living room with her. Thankfully the boys saved any teasing for later, when they weren't around small ears. After a few seconds hesitation, Leah disappeared out the front door, but not without one last dirty look in her packs direction. Shaking my head, I turned and made my way back to the living room; Quil had grabbed a sandwhich and plunked himself down on the floor with Claire, where they were now sharing it, her small body still cuddled into his.

"He has no bad intentions towards her." I felt warm arms go around my waist and titled my head back so I could look at Sam. "I've seen what he's feeling. There's nothing romantic there; he just wants to protect her and make her happy. So don't worry, alright?"

"Alright." I smiled and kissed his cheek, turning my attention back to my pack family. And I knew, just by watching them, that what Sam said was true; someday there'd be something more between my little girl and her imprinter, but for now, he simply loved her. And it'd take some getting used to, but that was good enough for me.

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_**Author's Note- So I hope you liked this! Originally I thought of splitting the prologue and then the actual story into two chapters, but I decided against it. I also decided against my decision to write this chapter in Quil's P.O.V.- I've seen it done in his so many times, and even in Sam's, but I've yet to read one in Emily's, and I've always wondered what was going through her head; because no way was she just gonna be cool with a guy imprinting on her two-year-old niece haha. Please review! **_


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